Quick Facts
| Intro | American actor and film director | ||
| A.K.A. | James Kirkwood, Sr. | ||
| Was | Actor Film director Screenwriter | ||
| From | United States of America | ||
| Field | Film, TV, Stage & Radio | ||
| Gender | male | ||
| Birth | 22 February 1875, Grand Rapids | ||
| Death | 24 August 1963, Woodland Hills (aged 88 years) | ||
| Family |
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Biography
James Kirkwood Sr. (February 22, 1875 – August 24, 1963) was an American actor and director.
Biography
Kirkwood debuted on screen in 1909 and was soon playing leads for D.W. Griffith. He started directing in 1912, and became a favorite of Mary Pickford. In 1923 he married actress Lila Lee; with her, he had a son, James Kirkwood Jr., who became a writer. He was George Melford's original choice for the starring role of Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan in The Sheik, which was later famously passed to Rudolph Valentino. His directing career fizzled in 1920, but he continued acting well into the 1950s.
His film career would span more than two hundred films over nearly a half century. Many years later his son, James Jr., would become a successful writer, winning both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for A Chorus Line.
Death
Following his death, he was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.
Partial filmography
- A Corner in Wheat (1909)
- At the Altar (1909)
- The Lonely Villa (1909)
- The Hessian Renegades (1909)
- Pippa Passes (1909)
- Fools of Fate (1909)
- Nursing a Viper (1909)
- The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period (1909)
- The Red Man's View (1909)
- In Little Italy (1909)
- To Save Her Soul (1909)
- The Day After (1909)
- The Rocky Road (1910)
- The Woman from Mellon's (1910)
- The Bridal Room (1912)
- The Left-Handed Man (1913)
- The House of Discord (1913)
- The Green-Eyed Devil (1914)
- Home, Sweet Home (1914)
- Lord Chumley (1914)
- Behind the Scenes (1914)
- Cinderella (1914)
- Fanchon the Cricket (1915)
- The Lost Bridegroom (1916)
- Susie Snowflake (1916)
- The Uphill Path (1918)
- In the Heart of a Fool (1920)
- Love (1920)
- A Wise Fool (1921) (extant; Library of Congress)
- The Man from Home (1922)
- Pink Gods (1922)
- Under Two Flags (1922)
- Ebb Tide (1922)
- Human Wreckage (1923)
- Ponjola (1923)
- Love's Whirlpool (1924)
- Wandering Husbands (1924)
- Circe, the Enchantress (1924)
- That Royle Girl (1925)
- Million Dollar Mystery (1927)
- Someone to Love (1928)
- Hearts in Exile (1929)
- The Devil's Holiday (1930)
- Young Sinners (1931)
- Charlie Chan's Chance (1932)
- My Pal, the King (1932)
- Driftwood (1947)
- Red Stallion in the Rockies (1949)
- The Lone Ranger (1950 episode of the TV series entitled "Double Jeopardy")
- The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
